Stitch-down-welt guide.



W.' R. BOLTON.

STITCH DOWN WELT GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8. 1910.

1 15mm, Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

W. R. BOLTON.

STITCH DOWN Wm GUIDE.

APPUCATION FILED AUG.8. I910.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'maatsa.

-wrLLIaM 1a. sonaron, or irnnrmeron, trimaran, 'nssreaton 're um'rnn SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A.

NEW JERSEY.

CORPORATION OF s'rrron-nowrt-wnn'r Quinn.

Specification or ietters Batent.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. BOLTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huntington, in the county of Huntington and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stitch- Down-Welt Guides; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an attachment for a machine for sewing stitch-down shoes.

margin of the sole, and tacked to the edge of the sole, and is then stitched to the sole by a welt on top of the sole, the upper being secured on top of the sole by stitching down the welt over the outturned margin of the upper which is sewed between the welt andthe sole.

One object of the present invention is to produce a welt guide which will properly ay the welt against the out-turned upper so that it can be stitched in place by the needle to make a stitch down shoe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the outsole sewing machines now in use, and more particularly the type of sewing machine known as the Goodyearrapid outsole stitcher, with welt guides which will adapt the machines for sewing stitch down work. The Goodyear rapid outsole stitcher, as usually constructed, is that form of machine disclosed in the atent to French and Meyer, No. 473,870, Xpril 26, 1882, and has the edge gage attachment described in the patent to French and Meyer, No. 563,471, July 7, 1896. The type of machine as now commercially employed, instead of having the edge guide formed integrally upon the supporting upright a of the French and Meyer Patent No. 563,471, drawings, has the edge guide itself removably mounted upon the supporting upright, substantially as disclosed in the patent to Haradon, No. 900,925, October 13, 1908.

My invention contemplates the conversion of the usual commercial type of the Goodyear rapid outsole stitcher as above indicated, mto a machine for sewing stitchdown work by the simple substitution of my improvedwelt guide in lieu of the outsole edge gage. Such a change will involve merely the taking ofi' of the edge gage, made removable substantially asv shown in Haradon, and the attachment in its place of my improved welt guide, and such substitution may be made by the operator of the machine wlth the use of no other tools than a screw driver.

Another object of my invention is the use of a welt guide which shall be readily adaptable to accommodate difierent widths of welting.

Another object of my invention is to position the welt guide entirely separate from the work support or table.

' Still another object of my invention is to make the welt guide adjustable with respect to the needle so that the line of stitching may be sewn along the middle, or any other desired position on the welt.

With these objects in view my invention consists in the welt guide attachment hereinafter described, as defined in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying this a plication I have illustrated the preferred form of my invention as applied to the Well known Goodyear rapid outsole stitcher. It is tobe understood, however, that my invention, in its broader aspects, is-equally applicable to other types of shoe sewing machines and that it can be otherwise embodied without departing from the spirit thereof.

Referring to the drawing, Figures 1 and 2 are respectively side and front elevations of my improved welt guide as applied to the Goodyear rapid outsole stitcher. Fig. 3 is a top view of the welt guide. Fig. 4 1s a front view of the welt guide. Fig. 5 is a ratenteait fa eit.

side view of the welt guide looking in the to hold the work against the work support or table.

6 indicates the upright supporting arm which is indicated by reference letter a in the French and Meyer Patent No. 563,471, this supporting arm 6 being arranged to be moved backward and forward, the upper end of the supporting arm being recessed to receive the screws 7 and 8 by whlch an outsole edge guide is removably securedto the arm 6 substantially as shown in the patent to Haradon. These parts above described are constructed and arranged to operate in a well known manner, substantially as set forth in the above -mentioned patents to French and Meyer and to Haradon, and further description thereof is considered unnecessary.

My Welt guide indicated generally by reference numeral 9 is secured to the upright 6 by the screws 7 and 8 which engagein the slots 10 and 11 formed in the shank 13 of the body portion 12 of the welt guide, thus allowing for vertical adjustment of the welt guide. Abovethe shank portion 13, the welt guide body is formed with a forwardly pro- ,jecting overhanging portion 14, this overhanging portion being continued upwardly and laterally beyond the shank in the direction in which the welt travels orto the left as viewed in Fig.3. The lower side of this overhanging portion is made with a straight welt-guiding surface 15 which forms the top wall of the welt guiding aperture 16. The upper side and front edge of this overhanging portion are rounded to form a smooth curved surface 17 over'which the work may freely slide, the welt-guiding surface 15 and the upper surface 17 meeting to form a thin edge 18 which allows the welt as it leaves the guiding'surface 15 to lie in close proximity to the shoe upper and sole which are fed over the upper surface 17. At the rear of the overhanging portion 14 and projecting laterally beyond it in the direction in ued beneath that which the welt is moved and lying below the continuation of the plane of the guiding surface 15 is the guiding finger 19. The upper surface of this finger forms a straight horizontal continuation of the surface 17 beyond and atthe rear of the edge 18, and the front surface of the finger 19 lies in a vertical plane parallel with the front of the machine. The base of this guiding finger 19 is continpart of the overhang 14 which lies at the left of the shank, forming beneath this overhang a downwardly projecting flange which merges with the front surface of the shank to form the rear wall 20 of the welt guiding aperture 16, this rear Wall lying in a vertical plane at a slight an gle to the front surface of the finger 19. The bottom 21 and the front'wall 22 of the welt guiding aperture 16 are parallel with the top and rear walls respectively and are formed by a plate of metal 23 provided with a flat portion 24 which is clamped against the shank 13 of the body portion by means of the clamping screw 25 and positioning pin 26. Above this flat portion 24 the plate 23' and extends out parallel with and in front of the finger 19, the front of the shim thus forming a new back wall for the welt guiding aperture. The lower end of the shim 28 1s angled over and secured to the edge of the I shank 13 of the body portion by means of a screw 29 and positioning pin 30. By means of shims of different thickness, my welt guide may be adapted to accommodate strips of welting of difierent widths.

The lasted shoe to which the welt is to be sewed is held in an inverted position by the operator and fed along from right to left of the front of the machine. The welt is fed at an angle upwardly and forwardly through the guiding aperture 16 into engagement with the shoe, the outsole, with the margin of the upper tacked thereto, moving along over the upper surface 17 of the welt guide and meeting the welt beyond the thin edge 18. As the welt leaves the welt guiding aperture 16, it passes over the top of the work support 1 and to the front of the finger 19, which lies at the rear of the slot 2 and just above the work support, and beneath the presser ,foot 5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The upper surface of the work support 1 and the front surface of the finger 19 form a two-walled channel by means of which the welt is pressed upwardly and forwardly against the lasted shoe, the inner edge of the welt pressing in against and creasing the upper, the presser foot 5 bearing down against the grain side of the outsole thus pressing it firmly against the welt. The front surface of the work support 1 presses in the upper against the last and assists in creasing the shoe upper in place, the shoe being pressed inwardly against it by the operator of the machine.

As-the welt guide is formed entirely separate from the work table 2, no modification whatever need be made in the structure or position of the work table.

In the use of my welt guide upon the Goodyear rapid outsole'stitcher, the guide is adjustedvertically by means of the screws 7 and 8 and slots 10 and 11, and clamped in place upon the support 6. The support 6 may be adjusted backward or forward by means of the handle 60 as described in the French and Meyer Patent No. 563,471, to

bring the middle of the welt as it leaves the welt guide directly beneath the needle and then the part 6 is locked in position by'means of the pins 7 0 which are shown in said French and Meyer patent and thus throughout the. whole sewing operation the line of stitching will follow the middle of the welt, or if the line of stitches is to be sewn in some position other than the middle of the welt, the welt guide can be readily adjusted so that theline of stitches will be sewn in the desiiredspaced relation to the edges of the we t. a

"What I claim is 1. An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a

Work support, a presser foot to hold the work upon the work support, and a stitchdown welt guide upon the same side of-the' work as the .work support, but separate from the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto, said welt guide having a horizontally extending finger at the rear of and above the upper surface of the work support, substantially as described.

2. 'An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a work support, a presser foot to hold the work upon the work support, and a stitchdown welt guide separate from the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto having a horizontally extending finger at the rear of and above the upper surface of the work support and under the work-engaging surface of the presser foot, substantially as described.

3. An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a work support, a presser foot to hold the work upon the work support, and a stitch down welt guide separate from the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto having a finger extending between the work-engaging surfaces of the work support and the presser foot, substantially as described.

4. An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, means for feeding the work, stitch forming mechanism comprising a needle, a work support having an upper bearing surface and a slot through which the needle passes, a stitch-down welt guide on the same side of the work as the work support and. bodily movable with relation to the work support, and having a guiding finger lying above said bearing surface and at the rear of said slot to engage one edge of the welt, and means for'adjusting the welt guide laterally of the direction of feed of the work with relation to the needle and work support so that the lineof stitches may be positioned from the edge of the welt which the guiding finger engages, substantially as described.

5. A welt guide for stitch-down work having a welt-guiding aperture and having a curved upwardly facing surface for engagf ing beneath and supporting the out-turned margin of the upper of the lasted shoe, said surface being continued at one side and beyond the mouth of said aperture-in the di-' of the work and having a shim lying in said aperture, the end of the shim being bent beyond the mouth of the aperture to extend in the same direction as the movement of the work, substantially as described.

7. A welt guide having a welt-guiding aperture and a shim lying insaid aperture and fitting against the rear wall thereof so as to reduce the width of the aperture to accommodate a narrow welt, said shim having its end continued beyond the mouth of the aperture to form aguiding finger, substantially as described.

8. An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism, a work support and a presser foot arranged to hold between them the edge of the outsole, the out-turned margin of the upper and a stitch-down welt, and a stitch-down welt guide rigidly supported separatefrom the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto and arranged'to feed the welt overthe work support and lay it against the out-turned margin of the upper, the welt guide having an upwardly facing surface engaging beneath the out-turned margin of the upper and serving as a support for the upper and outsole as they are fed through the stitch-forming mechanism, substantially as described. p

9. An outsole sewing machine, having, in combination, means for feeding the work, stitchforming mechanism including a needle, a work support, and a stitch-down welt guide and means for bodily adjusting the welt guide laterally of the direction of feed of the welt with relation to the needle so that the position of the line of stitches may be varied, substantially as described.

10. An outsole shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle, means for feeding the work horizontally past the needle, a stitchdown welt guide separate from the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto having a welt guiding aperture inclined in the direction of the feed of the work and having a guiding finger extending beyond the mouth of said aperture, the surface of said finger forming a horizontal continuation in the direction of the feed of the work of one wall of said aperture, said surface lying in a vertical plane parallel to the direction of the feed of the work, substantially as described.

. of the upper which is stretched over the side of the last and the top face being arranged to engage beneath and support the out.-

turned margin of the upper and being continued at the rear of and beyond the mouth of said aperture, substantially as described.

12. An outsole shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, means for feeding the work, stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a work support, a stitch-down welt guide, means under the control of the operator for moving the welt guide laterally of the direction of the feed of the work, and means for locking the welt guide in po sition, substantially as described.

13. An outsole shoe sewing machine, having, in' combination, means for feeding the work, stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a supporting member movable laterally of the direction of the feed of the work and adapted to support an extension edge attachment, and a stitch-down welt guide mounted on said supporting member, substantially as described.

14. An outsole shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism including a needle, a work support shaped to enter the crease between the welt and lasted upper, a presser foot, a stitchdown Welt guide separate from the work support and bodily adjustable with relation thereto and mounted on the same side of the work as the Work support to guide the welt over the work support in contact therewith, substantially as described.

WILLIAM R. BOLTON.

Witnesses:

C. F. MCNALLY, VIRGINIA ARTER. 

